Page 10 of At the Rancher's Pleasure

Sarabeth slapped her hand. “Back off, sister! I have a couple of years to go before I have to deal with that, as you well know.”

Jaynie cocked her head to one side, looking like an inquisitive bird. “Then why are you all flushed and goofy-eyed? I’d love to take credit for your excitement, but I know you don’t roll that way.”

“How is Laura?” Sarabeth asked, thinking of Jaynie’s long-term partner, who worked as a doctor in Joplin, the next town over.

“Fine. She says you must come over for a meal soon. But don’t try to distract me. I want to know who or what put that glint in your eyes.”

Once Jaynie homed in on a subject, one needed a high-powered missile strike to direct her off course. Besides, if Sarabeth didn’t tell her now, she’d soon hear—thanks, gossips!—that Brett kissed her. Jaynie would be hurt she didn’t confide in her, and she had too few friends in town to hurt one of the few standing on her side of the fence.

Sarabeth leaned forward and softly told her what happened.

“OMG! You kissed Royal’s Runaway Groom?”

Sarabeth winced at her friend’s shrill response and felt more than a few eyes swivel in their direction. “Why don’t you say that louder, Jaynie? I’m sure the people in the back didn’t hear you.”

The waitress placed their milkshakes in front of them, sending Sarabeth an approving look. “You kissed Brett? Good for you! Is he a good kisser? I always thought he would be...”

Caught off guard, Sarabeth exchanged a look with Jaynie. The waitress looked about sixteen, and any response seemed inappropriate. Then Amanda Battle, the owner of the Royal Diner, sauntered over to their booth and shepherded the outspoken waitress away.

“She’s older than she looks.” Jaynie sipped her milkshake, closing her eyes in pure ecstasy, and when she opened them again, pinned Sarabeth to her seat. “Well,ishe a good kisser? Judging by your floaty face, I’d say yes.”

“I do not have a floaty face!”

“Honey, you glided in here on a six-foot cloud,” Jaynie replied. “You arrived in Royal two days ago. How the hell did you end up kissing Brett on Main Street in front of the three witches?”

Sarabeth lifted a shoulder. “They said something about him being too young for me. And, duh, that’s obvious.”

“It’s not like you are eighty and he’s forty,” Jaynie said, sounding a little exasperated.

Sarabeth waved her words away. “Look, they were being bitchy and Brett didn’t like that.”

“And I know exactly why,” the other woman muttered before pushing her fingers into her mop of curls. “Back in the day, his mom was the subject of a lot of mean and horrible gossip.”

Sarabeth lifted her eyebrows at this news. “Really? Why?”

“She had a drinking problem,” Jaynie quietly replied, and Sarabeth appreciated the lack of judgment in her voice. “He found her passed out on the floor of their home and tried to revive her, but she died in his arms.”

Sarabeth lifted her fingers to her lips, distressed. “Oh, that’s horrible. When did this happen?”

Jaynie’s brow furrowed in thought. “Twenty years ago? You were still here, in Royal, I think.”

She winced. “I must’ve heard about it but, to be honest, I was fighting so many Rusty battles that nothing from the outside world penetrated.”

Sarabeth stared out of the window, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Now that she knew about his mom and the gossip she’d been subject to, it was clear to her that Brett kissed her because he’d felt sorry for her. It would be natural for him to defend her, to defendanywoman.

Okay, maybe a kiss was a slightly unorthodox way of doing it, but men were strange creatures...

“I’m sure it was just a pity kiss,” Sarabeth told Jaynie and waited for her to agree with her.

“Apitykiss?” Jaynie spluttered. She sent her a “honey, you’re nuts” look. “Sarabeth, you’re a gorgeous woman, and you’re so much more than a pity kiss.”

Sarabeth reached across the table to squeeze her hand. She had a few friends in LA but none with whom she had such a strong connection, like she was sliding her feet into a welcoming pair of slippers on a freezing day.

But, as much as she loved Jaynie, she’d needed to get her off the topic of Brett Harston. Her girlfriend was an incurable romantic, and if she had her way, she’d have them on the first plane to Vegas before she left the diner. Which meant she had to put the kibosh on any of those thoughts!

“How are your kids?” Sarabeth asked, deftly changing the subject before taking a long sip of her milkshake.Heaven.

“All good.” Jaynie relayed their latest news before leaning back and tapping a red nail against the side of her glass. “Now, tell me how it’s going with Ross.”

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